Looking for opinions on digital mixers...

Scodiddly · Post by **Scodiddly** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 5:26 pm

The Midas Venice F does *not* have motorized faders. It's an analog console with a big firewire interface patched into it.

Sammigz · Post by **Sammigz** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 6:52 am

Scodiddly wrote:The Midas Venice F does *not* have motorized faders.

Ok thats what i was afraid of. Thats a deal breaker for me.

How much of a difference do you guys think USB vs FireWire makes?

Im really interested in the A&H Qu-16, but have always used FireWire. A lot of the boards im looking at are USB only actually.

Sammigz · Post by **Sammigz** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 8:58 am

Man...... Narrowed it down to WHAT i'm looking for and can't find a board to fit the bill. Basically I want a board with FireWire, at least 16 channels and motorized faders. Cant find one with all 3 anywhere!

kayagum · Post by **kayagum** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 9:32 am

A board that has all three does exist: http://www.allen-heath.com/ahproducts/gs-r24/

But the motorized fader version will set you back $9000 street.

Frankly, if motorized faders are that important to you, you should buy the controller separately from your interface. One oldie but goodie is the Tascam US-2400, which you should be able to find on EBay. Or even simpler, get a 1 fader controller like a Presonus Faderport.

Other options here: http://www.sweetwater.com/c808--Mixing_ ... s/low2high

tjcasey1 · Post by **tjcasey1** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 9:53 am

Do you really need 24 inputs and motorized faders in your home studio? Can you fit that many musicians (or a drum set and say 10 more musicians) in your space?

I'll back off now, but honestly, my 16-channel Studiolive does me great in my home studio, and the only times I've filled all the inputs was when I did the live TV shows. Spend the other $1000 on a nice mic.

Sammigz · Post by **Sammigz** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 10:15 am

tjcasey1 wrote:Do you really need 24 inputs and motorized faders in your home studio? Can you fit that many musicians (or a drum set and say 10 more musicians) in your space?

Yes i can actually. It is a home studio, but i am trying to advertise and record other bands as well.

Im SO used to motorized faders i would LOVE to keep them, but i may sacrifice that as well.

I have actually backed away from the 24 channels, looking to get a 16 for now and upgrade at a later time.

Tough call this one is... Now im even reconsidering and looking into a separate interface and controller.
Im really interested in the A&H Qu-16, but never did USB and dont know how much of a difference it would be.

wren · Post by **wren** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 10:31 am

So I've been reading up a little more on this here and there, and I discovered an unfortunate thing that might throw a wrench into the Qu-16/24 idea (from the Qu-24 MIDI protocol manual):

MIDI communicates via: USB
?
Rear panel USB B port for direct connection to Apple Mac computers running OSX 10.6 or later. This is the recommended connection for DAW control.
Note
USB MIDI is supported natively by Apple Mac computers so no driver is needed.
A driver for Windows computers is not available.

(link)

Given that (unless you want to buy a whole new computer too), I second kayagum - maybe a separate interface and control surface?

Sammigz · Post by **Sammigz** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 10:52 am

wren wrote: Note
USB MIDI is supported natively by Apple Mac computers so no driver is needed.
A driver for Windows computers is not available.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Wonder if its the same deal for the ZED R16 boards... Im going to dig further.

My only problem with the interface and controller option is I havent seen any controllers with more than 8 faders. Why is that? If thats the case I would just keep my Tascam FW-1884. I just dont like shuffling through banks so i wanted all 16 or 24 faders in front of me at once, ya know?

Thats partly the main reason I want to upgrade. More faders. And the Tascam FW-1884 is really finicky with my software/setup.

Im going to look a lot more into the Behringer X32. Have been hearing nothing but good things on this board and i think besides being USB, it has everything else im looking for.

Theres a guy i know personally who may be getting rid of his Control 24 to me for under 2 G's. Does this board work ONLY with Mac too?

kayagum · Post by **kayagum** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 2:21 pm

ZED R16 has a Windows driver. And you should probably google the difference between the different Firewire protocols and USB/USB2/USB3. Based on what you're writing, I think you may be a couple of years behind the curve.

You're not facing up to why you can't get what you want: the equipment is out there, but your budget won't allow it. Pick what you're willing to do without, and start there, and when you're able to afford the bigger setup, do it then. And by that point, you may even decide you don't need that at all. Better yet, there may be a shorter upgrade path in your setup that you should reconsider. Microphones? Acoustic treatment? Wiring? Or even a current Apple or more modern Windows machine (that could go a long ways towards solving the flakiness you mentioned).

I've always believed that if something's a PITA to change or improve, it may not be worth doing it at that time if at all, and I need to consider a better alternative. And I'm telling you from personal experience, I've never regretted that decision tree.

Sammigz · Post by **Sammigz** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 2:47 pm

Cool thanks for your input. But heres my issue...

Right now I have the Tascam FW-1884. Which I actually love using, i just hate flipping through pages of banks to get to the track i need. SO i'd like to get at least a 16 channel, so i can have 16 faders in front of me while mixing. If the Tascam had 16 channels I probably wouldnt be considering this at all.

I know what i want, and yes my budget might not allow for it right now. So I have actually been narrowing it down based on what i can do without and what i need.

I'm going to look into the ZED R16 now that I know there are windows drivers, but im heavy HEAVY leaning towards that Behringer x32. Looks like a great little board.

farview · Post by **farview** » Wed Jun 18, 2014 7:02 pm

Sammy0712 wrote:Man...... Narrowed it down to WHAT i'm looking for and can't find a board to fit the bill. Basically I want a board with FireWire, at least 16 channels and motorized faders. Cant find one with all 3 anywhere!

The Behringer X-32 has all that. It has both USB and firewire. With a router, you can run it from your iPad or iPhone too.

Snarl 12/8 · Post by **Snarl 12/8** » Thu Jun 19, 2014 1:14 pm

Ramsa DA7 has motorized faders and HUI emulation. No firewire though.

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